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Basilisk

"SHATTER THEIR SKY!!"

A massive artillery piece mounted on a Chimera chassis, the Basilisk is a common sight anywhere the Imperial Guard is deployed in strength. Whether blasting enemy infantry in the open, bombarding trenches, or reducing fortresses, the Basilisk's reach is long.

Tactics

The Basilisk has the longest range of any unit in Dawn of War. On many smaller maps it can fire on targets anywhere on the map when positioned carefully. Just be sure to keep it safe. It is most effective when dealing with a ranged infantry army. Against the Tau or Imperial Guard the Basilisk can rip apart enemy lines with brutal efficiency. It is also very useful against massed Necron Warriors. The Basilisk does little damage to vehicles because it has such a hard time hitting them. Basilisks can also be brutal when you have large numbers of enemy troops passing through a valley. Just one Basilisk could decimate your opponents army before it could get out of the valley and find out what was shooting at it.

The Basilisk's shells will damage friendly troops just as well as enemies. Therefore, always exercise caution when using Ogryns or charging the Command Squad into melee if you have Basilisks anywhere nearby. Similarly, it may do great damage to your own troops if they are engaged by a strong melee army and your Basilisks happen to be nearby. Basilisks are best being far from the fight and in a position where melee units attacking your troops aren't the main target for them to shoot at.

Combining Basilisks with the Long Range Scanner provides an excellent way to rain fire upon your enemies from well outside their range. When combined with the Earthshaker Round the Basilisk can instantly destroy entire squads before the enemy even knows he's been targeted. Basilisks can also act as spotters themselves for nearby Heavy Weapons Teams with their sight range of 60.

In the late game when resources are more plentiful and Squad Caps are reaching their limits, it is often possible to use Earthshaker Rounds to destroy enemy production buildings, dealing a heavy hit to infrastructure, from relative safety. Tau especially are vulnerable to this tactic as their tech tree is based on completed buildings rather than researches. For example, destroying the Path to Enlightenment will prevent Pathfinder Teams and XV88 Broadside Battlesuits from being produced.